Laura Mitchell

Laura Mitchell is a senior adviser in NOREF’s Middle East and North Africa programme where she has worked on inclusive dialogue, conflict resolution, peace and transitional processes since 2011.  She speaks Arabic and has lived and worked in the region and in conflict zones for several years, as both a researcher and a practitioner. She is also fluent in Russian and French. She has worked as a programme director, country director and executive director for several international agencies, including Save the Children (UK), Oxfam (Canada), FOCUS (U.S.)/Aga Khan Foundation, KPMG, the World Bank and the planning Alliance/rePlan.

Her formal education includes an MA in Sociology and Equity Studies from the OISE/University of Toronto and a BA in Modern Languages (Russian and Arabic) from McGill University in Montreal. She has also taught master’s-level courses and coordinated an international development programme at a Canadian college.